Four construction sites are currently in operation, two in Austria and two in Italy. You can see the details of the construction lots by clicking on our interactive route plan. The excavation progress reports of the individual tunnel structures in the various construction lots are updated weekly. Work progress is shown on a graph.

Tulfes-Pfons

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE CONSTRUCTION LOT

This construction lot, worth 380 million Euro, was awarded to the Strabag/Salini-Impregilo bidding consortium in Summer of 2014. Excavation works began in September 2014 and will last until Spring of 2019. The construction lot includes 38 km of tunnel excavation work.

It consists of several structures:

Tulfes emergency tunnel

Innsbruck emergency stop

Main tunnel tubes

Connecting tunnels

Ahrental-Pfons exploratory tunnel

CURRENTLY ONGOING CONSTRUCTION WORK

Emergency tunnel

The emergency tunnel is being driven parallel to the existing Innsbruck railway bypass; it will be 9 km long and the excavation cross-section is 35 m². The drill-and-blast excavation work on this tunnel starts from three points at the same time: from Tulfes westwards (already completed), from the Ampass access tunnel eastwards and again westwards. The emergency tunnel will be completed in Summer of 2017.

Main tunnel tubes

The main tubes have been excavated by blasting according to the so-called New Austrian Tunnel Construction Method. The ceremonial first volley was set off on 19/03/2015 in the presence of EU Commissar Violeta Bulc and the Ministers of Transportation of the 7 Alpine countries (Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, Liechtenstein and Slovenia. This stretch includes 3 km of main tunnels with an excavated cross-section of about 70 m2 .

Connecting tunnel between the BBT and the Innsbruck bypass

Construction has been under way since Summer of 2015 on the connecting tunnels between the Brenner Base Tunnel and the existing Innsbruck bypass. The connecting tunnels will also be excavated by blasting, with a cross-section of about 115 m2 .

Exploratory Tunnel

The construction lot includes the construction of the 15-km stretch of exploratory tunnel between the Ahrental junction point and the town of Pfons. The open gripper TBM with a length of 200 m has started on September 26th, 2015. Until spring 2015 the machine will excavate 15 km of the exploratory tunnel in south direction.

Wolf

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE CONSTRUCTION LOT

This construction lot, worth 104 million Euro, was awarded to the Swietelsky/Swietelsky Tunnelbau bidding consortium in the fall of 2013. Excavation work on the Wolf access tunnel began on December 4th 2013.

The construction lot includes not only the work on the Wolf access tunnel and part of the exploratory tunnel, but also a series of logistics and safety works for the disposal site in the Padaster valley.

The construcion lot includes:

The Wolf access tunnel

The Wolf exploratory tunnel

The Padaster brook re-routing tunnel

The spoil removal tunnel

The debris barrier in the Padaster valley

The intake structure for the Padaster brook

The inner lining of the Padaster tunnel

The inner lining for the Saxen tunnel

Wolf access tunnel and exploratory tunnel

The 3.257 metre Wolf access tunnel, with an excavation cross-section of 120 m², was excavated by blasting from December 2013 to November 2015. It covers a 400-meter incline and ends in a junction chamber south of St. Jodok that has a cross-section of 280 m². Subsequently, the base slab of the access tunnel was further re-worked with the installation of the concrete track bed.

The Wolf 2 construction lot also includes a 1.2 km stretch of the exploratory tunnel to be excavated towards Brenner (to the south), a junction chamber and connecting tunnels.

All the works in this construction lot, which were carried out in preparation for the main Pfons-Brenner construction lot starting in Fall of 2018, were completed in September of 2017.

Exploratory tunnel Wolf (completed)

Excavation1,200 m

Length1,200 m

Cross section49 m²

Access tunnel Wolf (completed)

Excavation4,000 m

Length4,000 m

Cross section120 m²

Overview map

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS: WOLF

Gallery

Construction site Wolf Construction site Wolf Construction site Wolf

Mules 2-3

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE CONSTRUCTION LOT

The construction lot “Periadriatic seam”, carried out between October 2011 and the summer of 2015, comprised the excavation of 3.7 km of the main tubes and 1.5 km of the exploratory tunnel. The crossing of the Periadriatic fault line, one of the biggest geological fault lines in the Alps, was accomplished without a hitch.

In May 2016 the biggest construction lot of the Brenner Base Tunnel project, known as “Mules 2-3”, with a contract volume of 993 mln euro, was awarded to the bidding consortium Astaldi S.p.A., Ghella S.p.A., Oberosler Cav Pietro S.r.l., Cogeis S.p.A. and PAC S.p.A. Works started in September 2016.

This lot reaches from the construction lot “Isarco river underpass” up to the border with Austria. In the course of a 7-year construction period, 39,8 km of the main tubes and 14.8 km of the exploratory tunnel will be excavated, including the emergency stop in Trens and its access tunnel as well as the bypasses which connect the main tubes every 333 m. A total of approximately 65 kilometers of tunnels will be excavated.

Once this construction lot is finished, all excavation activities in the Italian project area will be complete.

CURRENT CONSTRUCTION WORK

Access to emergency stop in TrensThe blasting work to connect the Mules access tunnel with the future emergency stop in Trens started in December 2016. The 3,8 km long tunnel with a cross-section of approximately 80 m2 will presumably be excavated by 2021.

Exploratory TunnelThe drill and blast excavation works on the exploratory tunnel northwards resumed on 13.02.2017. After approximately 600 m, the rest of the stretch, all the way to the border, will be excavated with a tunnel boring machine (TBM). The driving operations are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

Main tunnelsThe drift of the main tubes northwards resumed on the 13th of march 2017. The first section of the stretch up to the future location of the Trens emergency stop, where new assembly chambers will be built, is going to be excavated by drill and blast in nearly two years. From here TBMs will drive the remaining section of the tunnels northwards up to the border of the construction lot, which should be reached during the first months of 2022.The first blast of the southwards drift took place on the 3rd of april 2017. The southern end of the construction lot is expected to be reached in mid-2020.

EXCAVATION DATA (Jenuary 14th, 2019)

Access tunnel to the emergency stop

Excavation2.001 m

Length3,797 m

Cross-section80 m²

Main tunnels

Excavation6,468 m

Length39,856 m

Cross-section85 m²

Exploratory tunnel

Excavation3,487 m

Length14,758 m

Cross-section35 m²

Safety and logistics tunnels

Excavation754 m

Length6,930 m

Cross-section26-56 m²

Overview map

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS: MULES 2-3

Gallery

TBM for the exploratory tunnel Mules-Brennero (excavation since May 2018) Arrival of a TBM component for the exploratory tunnel Mules-Brennero (excavation since May 2018) Tübbing production plant at Hinterrigger Tübbing production plant at Hinterrigger Tübbing production plant at Hinterrigger Northwards construction of the main tubes TBM "Virginia" for the excavation of one of two main tubes in northward direction TBM "Flavia" for one of the two main tunnels towards Brennero

Isarco river underpass

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE CONSTRUCTION LOT

The southernmost construction lot of the Brenner Base Tunnel, worth 303 million Euro, was awarded to the RTI Salini-Impregilo S.p.A., Strabag AG, Strabag S.p.A., Consorzio Integra and Collini Lavori S.p.A. bidding consortium in October of 2014. This lot links the Brenner Base Tunnel with the existing Brenner line and the railway station in Fortezza. The work is scheduled to be completed in 2022.

Since in this section the tunnel tubes are just a few meters below the surface, a portion of the activities pertaining to this construction lot will be carried out building artificial tunnels. Furthermore, as loose fluvioglacial materials and the groundwater layer will be crossed, it will be necessary to adopt specific ground consolidation procedures including ground freezing and the so-called jet grouting.

CURRENT CONSTRUCTION WORK

As part of the preparatory work, by the end of 2016 the state road SS12 was re-routed and two bridges, an underpass under the Brenner railway line and a direct highway access were built. This means that both supply and removal transports can take place while avoiding traffic through the surrounding towns.

The current phase (main construction phase I) provides for the construction of four shafts, 20-25 metres deep, to access the rock faces of the Isarco River Underpass. Furthermore, it includes the excavation - already completed - of the access tunnel on the right side of the valley using drill and blast, and of part of the main tubes and the connecting tunnels, to be built with the drill and blast method.

As a preparatory measure for the relocation of the existing line which will be carried out during the following construction phase, slope stabilization and earthmoving measures will be implemented.

EXCAVATION DATA (December 14th, 2019)

Main tunnels

Excavation2,151 m

Length4,478 m

Cross-section60-150 m²

Connecting tunnels

Excavation576 m

Length1,186 m

Cross-section60-80 m²

Connecting side tunnels

Excavation96 m

Length170 m

Cross-section35-45 m²

Access tunnel (completed)

Excavation192 m

Length192 m

Cross-section65 m²

Overview map

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS AT THE ISARCO RIVER UNDERPASS

Gallery

Excavation of the Western main tube Isarco river underpass Construction of the shafts Meeting point between access tunnel and connecting tunnel Consolidation with jet-grouting Construction of the tunnel floor in the connecting tunnel Isarco river underpass Isarco river underpass Construction of the shafts